Talk:Laser cannon
Was it a laser cannon? The device used on Talos IV against the knoll in and , is never directly referred to as either a laser or a cannon. Tyler stated that the entry had held up against "hand lasers", but then suggested that "the ship's power" be used against it. Further, there is no on-screen evidence of the method of power transmission. The terms "laser", "laser cannon" and "microwave" are speculative. --GNDN 19:29, 27 November 2006 (UTC) Yes, but is it a canon laser? I have no serious objection to Gvsualan's addition to the caption I wrote, except to say that that there is nothing heard or seen on-screen to suggest that this device is a laser cannon. If I'm wrong, I will either eat a bug or strike this comment. --GNDN 19:30, 29 March 2007 (UTC) :They utilized hand lasers, so what other kind could it be? This image already appears at that link, and that hasn't been disputed. --Alan del Beccio 19:34, 29 March 2007 (UTC) Since the weapon was never identified, it could have been anything at all from a laser to an early phaser to whatever Harvey P. Lynn suggested in his (largely ignored) memos to Gene Roddenberry. After retconning, it could even be a heavy version of a phase-pistol. It should also be noted that Lieutenant Kirk manned the phaser station aboard the [[USS Farragut (23rd century)|USS Farragut]] in 2257, three years before this episode. ( , see also laser pistol). Your argument has some appeal, and I tried to use a variant to explain why I believe the pistols in were phasers and not lasers. (See the discussion under "Laser pistol"). Shran's position was "that the weapon was called a laser on-screen in The Cage & The Menagerie, and was never referred to as a phaser." The cannon, in this case, was never referred to as anything at all. The circumstantial evidence is there and we can infer that this device is a laser cannon, but there is no direct evidence. --GNDN 20:15, 29 March 2007 (UTC) : It is referenced as a "laser cannon" by Gene Roddenberry in the script, and interoffice memos, as recalled in The Making of Star Trek, pages 119-121. One such memo, entitled "SUBJECT: LASER CANNON EFFECT" (dated 1-5-65), discussed the laser cannon effects in Scenes 67 through 73 of "The Cage." Evidently in first outline draft (dated 6-29-64) it was referred to as "the vessel's huge matter-converters." --Alan del Beccio 23:57, 10 April 2007 (UTC) ::Saved after edit conflict, written before reading Alan's comments above: I'm coming in on this a bit late, but I'll comment nonetheless. IIRC, the weapon is identified as a laser cannon in some behind-the-scenes notes, perhaps made available in The Making of Star Trek. The Star Trek Encyclopedia also states the cannon was a laser, but whether they based that on speculation or from some production source like a script is unknown. Since the cannon was in used while laser pistols were in use and before phasers were introduced, the safest assumption would be to call it a laser cannon. A possible alternative (though not one I'm necessarily fond of) is to simple call it an energy cannon. But if there exists some production notes or something specifically calling it a laser cannon then that would be enough to keep this where it is. --From Andoria with Love 00:02, 11 April 2007 (UTC) ::Written after reading Alan's comments above: And I was right. So I guess it can stay at laser cannon. :) --From Andoria with Love 00:04, 11 April 2007 (UTC)